So, in and out of a couple games. Some oldies and favorites. Some I’ve talked about here, some I haven’t. But new on my list is Farm Together. Loosely described as Farmville but on Steam and multiplayer. Regardless, it’s cute and easy to play. No massively ulterior goal other than farming and building up your options for plants.

Right now, i’m just barely into it but I’ve got Lemon and Apple trees and a smattering of field crops.

I had thought I was being paranoid. That the number of would-be pirates interdicting me was just unluckily high this week. But I indulged my paranoia once again.

Having your ship ID tags reset and your name obfuscated isn’t cheap. Several select bribes and a crate of Lavian Brandy later and once again I was merely some pilot in some ship plying the space lanes trying to make an easy credit. Using a series of independent and previously unknown brokers I selected a trade route moving easily obtainable goods. Nothing rare or noteworthy. Some medicine going one way, bismuth going another..

I had thought this was going well when the computer starts blaring alarms and the helm pulls like an angry bull. Interdiction. As is customary I throttle down and spare my FTL the stress of trying to evade. I figure, if it’s system security, a quick scan and I’ll be on my way. Unfortunately this wasn’t system security, unless someone in procurement decided that the time-honored Viper wasn’t meeting expectations. A lone Diamondback Scout greeted me with scans and conventional threats. Not a long-range combat vessel, certainly no match for my ship and my skills as a pilot. We danced among the stars for several minutes, his agility was outpacing mine and I was only able to land a sparing few shots but my beams cut deep. Not two minutes later his ship exploded.

The whole time they didn’t shoot back, just what I assumed was the jockeying for position before a well place railgun or plasma cannon shot. My suspicion was validated not ten minutes later when another would-be pirate, this time in something more dangerous, found me. Fortunately I found him on sensors first and made a short jump out-system.

The question became “Who had I pissed off?”

It took me a few days to get out to GM Cephei. A contact I’d made back near Ao Qin was promoted to foreman for a low-key mining opportunity out there. He claimed to have some information. The kind of information you don’t just broadcast over normal channels. He was vague but certainly emphatic that this information would answer a few questions regarding my current plight. In GM Cephei.

Of course I get there and he’s nowhere to be found. Nobody under his name on comm channels. Nobody who had even heard of him. Weird. Suspicious. I didn’t even leave my ship, this was too strange and I’m not inclined to wait for trouble to find me. several thousand light-year from home, I turned around and left about as quickly as I had arrived.

I’m something of a fan of Istaria. It’s dated, sure. It’s not modern-day graphics dialed up to 9. The community is small but dedicated and the world is interesting to explore.

Between Dragon and Biped you can be anything you want. And there’s no commitment to class when you’re not a dragon, you can level all the classes and add their powers to your repertoire.

Dragon is kind of a one and done approach but you can learn to fly. And it’s a rare game where you can a) play a dragon and b) Fly.

My personal tastes are kinda there with fantasy games. I want interesting depth, optional design choices and a world you can explore. I once joined some friends for a big fiery boss-monster fight. This fight required my way-underleveled elf to hike across creation for what feels like forever. Past monsters great and small, through townships and villages.

I would do it again. My second character aside from Zurom is going to be a lizard man of some nature.

From one ship to another, one game to another. It’s been an interesting week. Soon I go into Elder Scrolls Online for a while but before then some Star Trek Online.

My current ship, a Fleet Advanced Research Vessel Retrofit, is probably among my favorite. It’s got nacelles, a big saucer. I dwarf some other ships in the game even though I’m not very big. Certainly nothing compared to the Universe-class Enterprise J they featured at one time.

Nothing is bigger than that thing. In fact, the question of if it fits into some of the missions came up. At the time of release it was (and I think still is) biggest ship in the game.

I should know better than to touch strange artifacts. During one Priory initiation I was offered the chance to examine an unusual hourglass. I was even encouraged to touch it.

That should have been sufficient warning. I know better, I really do. What came next cannot be described sufficiently.

I was reliving memories someone else had collected in this fractured landscape. Teachings and lost thoughts amidst the jutting shards of crystal. It was only through the most focused concentration that I was able to see the dangers in time to defend myself.

My normal illusions seemed to have more life here and I was having a hard time know which ‘me’ was true and which were not.

No surface reflected my properly. At first I thought it was just distorted by the materials, the very crystals that made up the floors. But then I started to see the differences, the underlying message hidden in the space around me.

This will take time to decipher. I’ve arranged for lodging at the Priory headquarters so I can better access their library whilst I delve into the meaning of my visions.

Oh what a week it had been. Or was it two weeks? I’ve lost count.. I’ve ridden from the jungles of Maguuma to the Crystal Desert. I’ve seen leagues of countryside pass from the saddle of my raptor, and while I yearn for a cold ale and a warm biscuit I fear I’ll not rest soon.

I’ve recently mastered the base tenets of Chronomancy and am able to drop wells of time so mystifying that foes feel themselves lost in memory.

I ventured west into Maguuma, deep into the jungle which even now claims the lives of foolish adventurer’s. Your biggest danger there is in falling, for there is no forest floor to land upon. No, the whole place is a series of layered branches and platforms nestled well above the seemingly endless pit of roots and ever-writhing vines beneath. I wasn’t there long, but certainly long enough to know I’d need to return with sufficient supply and patience. There’s few easy paths through the branches and frequently I was blocked by what could have been easily been overcome with a small airship.

The Pact has made a foothold though it struggles daily to maintain that presence. I spent a number of nights helping their patrols and crossed paths with a variety of troll I can only describe as “Worse than usual”. Seems Mordremoth, the jungle dragon, has taken to mutating local fauna and has produced a variety of troll I hope remains in Maguuma. I wonder how long he’s been working at this, or if this is just a recent occurrence coinciding with his reawakening.

I’ve made a note to stop in with the Priory scholars on my way east. I’m curious to know more about the jungle before Scarlet.

I’ve rolled into the hills north of Lion’s Arch looking for my prey. I found it among the rocks and rivers and lakes. Though I’m still looking and I’ll keep hunting.

I have mastered the base tenets of Chronomancy, a feat which has taught me the value of carrying a shield. The more advanced bits will take more time and so I continue to adventure around the lands with my trusty raptor.

We rode, for what seemed like days, among the grassy hills of Eastern Maguuma. We searched high and low and found few of what we sought. I could already feel what was the blossoming beginning of a healthy friendship between mount and master.

A friend of mine met me, advised me on steps to take. I ventured into Elona, a land far to the southeast from Lion’s Arch and rescued some people. They volunteered their mount, a scaly raptor, to aid me. Poor thing enjoys a good scratch and sometimes sniffs the air much like a large puppy.

We’ve made a decent dab of progress into unlocking some of the new powers out there. I’m within a few steps of embracing Chronomancy. We’ll see how it holds my attention here shortly.